A current ELD mandate waiver which postponed the measure for trucks carrying produce and other ag products ends March 18.

In a letter submitted Feb. 20, the United Fresh Produce Association, Western Growers, the National Potato Council, the U.S Apple Association and more than 20 other produce groups said a combination of factors have driven up transportation costs.

“With the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate, driver shortages, and other issues, there have been considerable increases in transportation costs for fresh produce causing devastating effects on our industry,” the letter said. “We are hearing from many of our members across multiple commodities and sectors throughout the country that shippers are having to pay two or three times, occasionally more, the normal rate for transporting their product.”

ELD concerns

The letter said feedback from producers and trucking operations indicates many ELDs on the market are not able to accommodate the agricultural exemption that is provided under the hours-of-service regulations. Under the agricultural exemption, hours-of-service regulations do not apply to the transportation of agricultural commodities operating within a 150-air mile radius of a pick-up.

“We believe that this extension would provide a reasonable period of time for FMCSA to work with the technology providers in developing a program to verify that the ELDs on the market can perform the tasks that the rule mandates and allow trucks hauling agricultural commodities to fully utilize the 150-mile exemption,” according to the letter.

The coalition is asking the agency to consider hours-of-service modifications to accommodate the realities of loading and unloading fresh produce.

“The unpredictability of loading and unloading times as it relates to fresh fruits and vegetables can significantly detract from the on-duty hours drivers are allowed in a day,” according to the letter, which notes that two-to four-hour delays at loading are not uncommon.

“We encourage FMCSA to consider flexibility under either the ELD rule or the hours-of-service rule for truck drivers who are idling, waiting or traveling small distances reflective of negotiating a congested terminal to be considered in an exempt status,” according to the letter. “We do not believe that this type of activity is as demanding as over-the-road driving and therefore should not contribute to maximum driving times.”

Allow packing facilities, cold storages and other locations to be considered as a “source” location under the hours-of-service regulation.

Allow the agricultural exemption’s 150-air-mile radius to begin at the final pick up point for multi-point pickups. Drivers make multiple pick-ups from small packinghouses or cold storage facilities to fill their load before continuing to final destinations. “We would encourage the 150 air-mile radius to begin at the location of the last pick-up point so as not to disrupt current supply chains and accommodate the operational efficiencies organically created by the marketplace over the last 100-plus years,” according to the letter.

Clearly define that empty trucks are covered under the agricultural exemption. According to the letter, agricultural exemptions should be clearly defined to include unladen trucks as eligible if they are traveling to a facility exclusively to pick up an order.

A system patented by Walmart aims to address one of the top drawbacks for would-be online shoppers: the desire to pick their own produce.

The “Fresh Online Experience,” a process Walmart outlined in a patent published Dec. 28, would allow consumers to remotely approve or reject specific produce items prepared for online orders. The service could be used for other fresh items as well.

When placing an order, consumers could select which items to confirm. Once two-dimensional or three-dimensional photos of the produce have been sent, the consumer has a set amount of time to approve or reject the items.

Walmart explained its rationale for the system — for which fulfillment could be manual or automated — in the background section of patent.

“A customer when visiting a retail store can inspect and choose produce that seems to look like the highest quality,” the company stated in the document. “However, a customer who orders the same item from a retail store website for grocery pickup and/or delivery has to rely on the store associate to choose the actual item to be delivered. They may be dissatisfied with the result.

“It is desirable for the customer to be able to request images of the item in the retail store, so that the customer can be satisfied with their online purchase,” Walmart stated.

The company has patented numerous other ideas over the years that have not been deployed. E-commerce, however, has been a major area of growth for Walmart, and inability to inspect produce and other fresh item is one of the most cited reasons people give for not grocery shopping online.

USF Career Services presents Spring 2018 Career Fair Week! Be sure to stop by and talk to employees of the official transportation provider of your USF Bulls athletics, ReedTMS Logistics! Each fair is a great way to network face-to-face with local and national employers interested in hiring USF students and graduates for full-time, co-op and internship positions.

Career Fair Week is sponsored in cooperation with the USF Alumni Association. Career Fair Week events are exclusively for USF students, with valid student ID, and alumni (please bring a current resume that includes your USF degree information).

WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND

Meet in person with representatives from top organizations from around the country

Discuss employment openings with employers.

Distribute your resume so be sure to bring lots of copies!

Share your qualifications, skills, and academic background.

Network as you obtain company information and business cards of the organizations that interest you.

Tampa, Fla. (Jan. 17, 2018) – ReedTMS, a leading asset-based third party logistics provider announced its third annual carrier awards today. ReedTMS Logistics prides itself on successfully meeting and exceeding customer requirements and credits its success in large part due to the relationships it has built with a diverse group of carriers. Two decades of experience has helped to transform ReedTMS from a small startup venture to a leading organization within the logistics industry.

The following carriers are nominated by ReedTMS Logistics operations team members. Nominated service providers are then evaluated on a multitude of performance metrics that include: service quality and performance, on-time service, capacity and pricing, and overall commitment to the partnership.

The 2017 Flatbed Carrier of the year winner was presented to DP USA Trucking Inc

The 2017 Award of Excellence for Outstanding Flatbed Service was presented to JJB Logistics Inc

The 2017 Dry Van Carrier of the year was presented to R & R Elite Trucking

The 2017 Award of Excellence for Outstanding Dry Van Service was presented to Bridgestone America’s Fleet Operations

The 2017 Refrigerated Van Service winner was presented to CALIFORNIA EXPRESS LINES LLC

The 2017 Award of Excellence for Outstanding Refrigerated Van Service was presented to Darngavil Enterprises LLC

“It brings us great pleasure to recognize some of our carrier partners who exemplify what it means to go above and beyond in an industry as diverse as ours,” said Jason Reed, CEO of ReedTMS Logistics. “The continued success of our business is reliant on great relationships like the ones we have forged with these terrific companies.”

ReedTMS Logistics supports its more than 25,000 carriers with high volume and quality truck loads, timely payment, an in-depth understanding of their business, ease of doing business and most importantly a customer-centric operations staff.

About ReedTMS Logistics
Established in 2010, ReedTMS Logistics is an asset-based third-party logistics provider compromised of Reed Transport Services, Inc. and TMS Logistics, Inc. The two companies offer a wide array of transportation services to customers throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Headquartered in Tampa, Fla. with offices in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin and Ashland, Ohio. Founded in 1996, Reed Transport offers high-quality brokerage and freight management services. Founded in 1997, TMS Logistics is a multimode carrier specializing in dry van, dedicated fleet services. For more information, visit www.ReedTMS.com

ScottsMiracle-Gro presented Reed Transport Services, Inc. with its Transportation Excellence Award for 2017. ReedTMS Logistics is a leading asset-based third-party logistics provider who operates a multi-mode transportation network, which manages hundreds of shipments in North America weekly.

ScottsMiracle-Gro holds its core carriers to stringent service performance standards and relies on on-time deliveries to keep their business moving. The international consumer lawn and garden product company will be sending representatives to the ReedTMS headquarters in Tampa to celebrate the partnership between the organizations. The award marks the second time in three years that ReedTMS Logistics has been able to claim the prestigious award.

Reed Transport went above and beyond the typical call of duty, even relocating an employee to work on-site in order to dedicate his full attention to Scotts. For first six weeks of the project, Reed Transport had an employee helping with scheduling and tracking shipments on-site.

“Providing the best and most efficient service to our customers is at the core of everything we do. We hope to continue to grow this amazing relationship we have built with ScottsMiracle-Gro for a long time” said Mark Reed, ReedTMS President and CFO.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, ScottsMiracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG) is the world’s largest marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products.

About ReedTMS Logistics Established in 2010, ReedTMS Logistics is an asset-based third-party logistics provider compromised of Reed Transport Services, Inc. and TMS Logistics, Inc. The two companies offer a wide array of transportation services to customers throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Headquartered in Tampa, Fla. with offices in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin and Ashland, Ohio. Founded in 1996, Reed Transport offers high-quality brokerage and freight management services. Founded in 1997, TMS Logistics is a multimode carrier specializing in dry van, dedicated fleet services. For more information, visit www.ReedTMS.com.

ReedTMS Logistics kicked off its fall philanthropic push on Saturday, August 12th by volunteering at Feeding Tampa Bay.

Feeding Tampa Bay, part of the national Feeding America network, focuses on providing food to the more than 700,000 hungry in the 10-county area of West Central Florida.

You might be surprised to learn that Florida is fourth in the nation for family hunger. Or, that 60% of the population in West Central Florida is eligible for food stamps. Many at-risk students won’t eat at all between lunch on Friday and breakfast Monday morning. Although these facts may surprise you, they are hard realities for the one in six in our region who live with daily hunger.

According to the new Hunger in America 2014 study conducted nationally by Feeding America, you would be surprised to learn the characteristics of the 841,000 hungry people in the community served yearly by Feeding Tampa Bay.
Too often, we associate being hungry with negative stereotypes, such as being homeless or uneducated, when that couldn’t be further from the truth. The new Hunger in America data humanizes the hungry in our community by showing they’re largely families or seniors with homes. They truly are our neighbors, our friends, our fellow church members and our coworkers.

Employees at ReedTMS, helped package food into 20 different categories in order for the goods to be easily distributed throughout the community. When it was all said and done 9,823 meals were packaged for malnourished families in the Tampa Bay area on Saturday morning!

For More information about Feeding Tampa Bay and how you can get involved in the cause, please visit their website here.